At 23:00 Beijing time on December 11, a match in the 16th round of the Premier League began to compete, and Chelsea faced Leeds United at home. Chelsea have scored 33 points in their first 15 league games and are in the title-contending group. However, Chelsea have not been in good form lately, and the defensive end has always been penetrated. In the last round of the league, Chelsea were reversed by West Ham United after scoring their first goal away from home, losing the game 2-3. In the subsequent Champions League group stage, Chelsea and Zenit played a 3-3 draw, resulting in the loss of the first place in the group and only qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage as the second in the group. Chelsea needed a win to get out of the slump and this time won against Leeds United, albeit a tough one.
In this game Chelsea lined up in a 343 formation. Mendy served as the starting goalkeeper. Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Rudiger are paired at 3 defenders. Rees James, Cheek, Jorginho and Marcos Alonso form a four-back. The attacking combination of Mount, Havertz and Werner joined forces. Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Pulisic and Saul sit on the bench. Leeds United are in a 4321 formation, with Daniel James, Roberts and Rafinha starting out.
In the 13th minute of the game, Jack Harrison's low shot was blocked. Six minutes later, Rafinha scored a direct free-kick at goal and was deflected by Mendy. In the 27th minute, Leeds United scored. Alonso sent a penalty and Rafinha scored on a penalty. In the 41st minute, Chelsea equalised. Alonso sent a cross from the left, Mount swept in the middle and the ball went into the near corner of the goal, the goalkeeper didn't react at all. At the end of the half, the two sides played in a 1-1 draw. Chelsea had 66% possession in the first half, scoring 1 goal on target on 3 of 10 shots. Leeds United only had five shots on goal in the first half, two shots on target, and also scored 1 goal.
The second half was easy to fight again. In the 49th minute, Jack Harrison turned around and fired a shot from the left side of the penalty area, kicking too straight and the goalkeeper took the ball down. Eight minutes later, Chelsea also scored on penalties! Rudiger was brought down inside the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty and Jorginho hit the penalty. In the 78th minute, Thiago Silva received the ball in the middle of the penalty area and shot with his foot, which was deflected. In the 82nd minute, Leeds United scored again! Gerhardt wrapped his shot around the goal and the ball went into the net. In stoppage time, Chelsea scored again! Still relying on penalty opportunities, Jorginho once again scored a penalty to save Chelsea. What a god plot! Leeds United tumbled. In the end, Chelsea beat Leeds United 3-2.